The Crowd 013

Inside the ragged cloth, there was no child at all, but a broken doll. Two large words were written on the doll.

Dumbass.

Old Li! The man sensed something was wrong. He looked up to speak, but suddenly saw a burly man appear behind his companion.

Fuck!

Old Li was struck in the back of the knee with a club and fell straight to his knees. The leader, attempting to fight back, took a knife-hand strike to the throat. The hammer in his hand dropped to the ground as he stumbled backward, clutching his neck in agony.

Are you okay, Baby? Did they scare you? Zhao Hu hurriedly stepped forward to comfort his girlfriend.

Spare us! Have mercy! The remaining men hastily threw down their weapons, realizing they were already surrounded by twenty or thirty people, all wearing fierce expressions.

Spare you? Have others begged you like this before? Fang Zhiyi asked.

The men were forced to their knees.

Mercy isn't impossible, but from today onward, you must trade yourselves for your lives. Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes. The next moment, he seamlessly snapped the neck of the leader who was still agonizingly clutching his throat. The corpse slumped to the ground.

Tsk tsk. Looking at the pale, terrified robbers, Zhao Hu shook his head. No matter how many times I see it, the boss's moves are always mind-blowing.

Chen Rui said nothing, simply ordering someone to bring out shackles and chain the robbers' feet together.

They had already encountered several waves of robbers, ranging from lone wolves to organized gangs. Chen Rui now believed Fang Zhiyi's words: the world had changed, and people would do absolutely anything to survive.

Fang Zhiyi had led them to raid a prison. They originally wanted to find guns, but found none, only a pile of shackles.

Fang Zhiyi seemed very adept at handling these robbers. Generally, as long as the robbers yielded, he would immediately restrain them and make them march at the back of the group.

At first, Chen Rui did not know what Fang Zhiyi was planning, until they occupied a relatively flat village. The villagers had vanished to who knows where. Fang Zhiyi had them settle down, and then treated the robbers like mules. He ordered them to repair the houses, make adobe bricks from mud mixed with dry grass, and stack them up to build a perimeter wall.

What would normally take over a month of work was desperately completed by the robbers in half the time under Fang Zhiyi's threats and intimidation. But it wasn't over yet; they had to continue doing other chores, such as clearing land and digging wells.

Fang Zhiyi called this maximizing value.

Boss, how did you know there was water down here?

I told you, I'm a fortune teller. Fang Zhiyi looked at the panting robbers and waved his hand. Someone immediately pulled them up and forced another group to jump down and continue digging.

Chen Rui didn't know if Fang Zhiyi was telling the truth, but it seemed he was incredibly accurate every time.

The moment the water gushed out, everyone in the village cheered.

From being refugees to this moment, they finally had a place to live, along with fields and a well. Hope filled everyone's heart, and some even shed tears of excitement.

However, this was only the beginning. Soon, they faced their first attack.

The reason was simple. A girl was in charge of bringing food to the robbers. Seeing them wolf down their meals made her feel a bit sorry for them. A few men with ulterior motives began to sweet-talk her. Before long, the girl took pity on them. Taking advantage of the absence of Fang Zhiyi's personal guards, she opened the door and let those men out. As a result, the first thing they did upon getting out was take her hostage.

Facing the encirclement, the robbers were arrogant: Back off! Or I'll kill her!

Zhao Hu looked nervously at the broken tile in the robber's hand, feeling somewhat hesitant.

Until that voice spoke up.

Kill her then. We hardly know her anyway.

Everyone turned to look at Fang Zhiyi. The robber was clearly a bit afraid of him: If you don't get out of the way, I'm going to kill her!

Fang Zhiyi picked his ear. Can't you understand human speech? I told you to kill her! He bellowed the last few words.

The robber's hand trembled, leaving a shallow cut on the girl's neck.

Save me! Fang Zhiyi! Save me! You can't do this! Aren't we together? How, how can you say such things...

Fang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. Together? We are together, true, but I'm not willing to keep a stupid teammate around, lest I have to wipe your ass for you later.

You, you hypocrite! You treat people like slaves! You leave people to die, you'll go to hell! the girl cursed at him.

Hell? Is it any different from right now? Fang Zhiyi waved his hand. His die-hard loyalists swarmed forward, and the seven or eight robbers were instantly drowned by the crowd. The girl stood frozen in terror.

She was exiled from the village that very day.

I was just speaking out of anger! You can't drive me away, I'll do whatever you want! the girl desperately pounded on the heavy gate.

Voices of other people came from behind the door.

Yeah, she was just being a little too kind-hearted. A scolding would have been enough, why kick her out? It's very dangerous for a girl out there...

The door suddenly opened. A look of joy appeared on the girl's face, but then another person was thrown out from inside.

Zhao Hu's voice rang out: In that case, you can go accompany her.

The two stared at each other, their faces full of disbelief.

Zhao Hu thought Fang Zhiyi was truly godly. Not only was he a great fighter, but he could also tell fortunes, arrange battle formations, and knew how to use wooden sticks and the like to create simple machines.

He kept Fang Zhiyi's words firmly in his heart: You can be kind, but you cannot be brainless.

Zhao Hu strictly implemented this core philosophy. While out on a mission, he accidentally rescued over a dozen captive women. Since he didn't know how many enemies there were, Zhao Hu told his people to leave first. However, when it was time to go, one girl cried and refused to leave, insisting on waiting for her boyfriend so they could leave together.

Fang Zhiyi's image flashed in Zhao Hu's mind. The next moment, he pulled the door of the battered car shut: Fine, then you wait here!

The girl watched her rescuers speed away. She chased after them, crying and shouting, her cries gradually turning into curses.

The chaos of the world continued.

Fang Zhiyi's power was also expanding day by day. His method was simple.

I have provided you with a chance to survive. You have shelter, fields, and hope. If someone wants to come and snatch your hope away, what will you do?

Hundreds of people shouted in unison: Fight!!!

Chen Rui, meanwhile, registered the information of every resident. He also noticed that every time they went out on a mission, the men Fang Zhiyi sent out were those with families. He was not at all worried that these men wouldn't come back.

Through fierce battles with other factions, Fang Zhiyi's subordinates grew into a group of ferocious warriors. The survivors who initially followed him had gradually transformed; their eyes no longer held confusion, but rather a newfound unwavering resolve.